Merikokeb Berhanu Untitled XCIX, 2025

In Untitled XCIX, a cluster of nestled oval shapes at the center is surrounded by an array of red circles dotted over a broad green band – ambiguous hybrids between wildflower, blood cell and micro-circuit. This fantasy circuitry, sometimes rendered in a matrix-green reminiscent of representations of cyberspace in early sci-fi, signals a modern, industrial and digital realm.

While Merikokeb’s work has long had a focus on lifeforms and biomorphic imagery, her inclusion of technological elements, and the imagery of distressed animals, such as the pile of fish bones at the bottom of Untitled XCIX, have been attributed to the artist’s move to the US in 2017, where she grappled with the implications of mass consumption, environmental pollution and climate change. Paradoxically, after her move, her palette also brightened. The tension inherent in Merikokeb’s approach to the meaning of color and shape, abstract and representational form, bespeaks a deeply felt spirituality—pained by a perceived estrangement between humans and nature, yet fueled by a belief in the long history of humanity’s resilience. Her paintings have a topical and contemporary mood, not because of their references to a vaguely technological formal vocabulary but because of the mix of melancholy and strength. There is sadness but also a will to find beauty and hope in life and in form.